


if only we had more time.

by allium_writes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Character Death, Coping, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:35:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29189412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allium_writes/pseuds/allium_writes
Summary: Astoria Greengrass always knew that she was going to have an early death, she just had to prepare her son and husband for her death.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Kudos: 29





	if only we had more time.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr: alliumwrites. A very short one-shot.

** How do you greet death like an old friend when they were always a relative?  **

Astoria Greengrass always knew that she would greet death sooner than her friends. She knew that she would die sooner than her husband and child. She knew that she wouldn't be able to grow old with her husband. She knew that she wouldn't be able to watch her child grow up. Death didn't scare her anymore—she was afraid of leaving her family in pieces. 

** How does a wife prepare her husband for her early death?  **

When Astoria married Draco, he knew about her blood curse and life expectancy. The hours they were apart were the hours Draco spent in his lab, trying to find a cure for her. There had to be a cure for a blood curse somewhere out there or something to help Astoria stay alive a little longer, but he found nothing. Astoria would walk into the alchemy lab to find him hunched over at his desk. 

"Draco, what are you doing?" Astoria would ask, but she already knew the answer. As much as she told him that there was no cure for her blood curse, he continued on his hunt for a cure. 

"I'm going to find you a cure," he said. 

Astoria shook her head, "There isn't a cure." 

"There has to be! I'll find one!" He cried out. Draco held onto a sliver of hope that one day, they would wake up and find a cure. 

Yet, hope was never enough. 

"I'm here now, Draco. You shouldn't spend your time trying to find a cure when you could be spending more time with me," Astoria said. 

She always knew what to say to Draco. 

** How does a mother prepare a child for her death?  **

Before Scorpius was born, she knew that she had to prepare him for the day she could not be a part of his life. After he was born, she would spend hours watching over Scorpius and teaching him everything that she could. In subtle ways, she had always prepared him for her eventual death. 

"My beautiful, Scorpius," she would whisper into his head before kissing it. 

** How does a mother send her only child off to school?  **

Astoria and Draco found it difficult taking Scorpius to Platform 9 3/4. People would move away from the small family and send them glares. The people around them knew of Draco's dark mark. The people around them speculated Scorpius being Voldemort's son. 

Scorpius had approached many people his age, but their parents would pull their children away from him. Scorpius became an exceptionally lonely child.

"I'll miss you, Scorp," Astoria said as she kissed his forehead. 

Scorpius hugged his mum, "I'll miss you too." 

"And what about me?" Draco interrupted. 

"I'll miss you too," Scorpius said before hugging his dad. 

Astoria pulled out a bag of sweets from her purse and handed it to Scorpius. 

"Sweets always helped with making friends," Astoria said. 

Scorpius grinned up at his parents. 

"I love you," Scorpius said as he walked to the train. 

Both Astoria and Draco watched as the train made its way to Hogwarts. They hoped that their past would not affect Scorpius' future. 

Yet, hoping wasn't good enough. 

Scorpius found it extremely hard to make friends on the compartment. Nobody wanted to talk to him, much less sit in the same compartment as him. He tried offering candy to them, just like his mother said, but the students laughed. 

"Why would we accept candy from you? You'll probably poison us," the students would say. 

Scorpius sat in a compartment alone, eating his candy. When he heard somebody knock on the door, he glanced up. 

"Do you mind if we sit here?" The boy asked. 

"No, I don't mind at all!" Scorpius said. The girl was hesitant about sitting down, so she continued standing up. 

"Would you like some candy?" Scorpius asked. Maybe this time, his mother's advice would work. Scorpius took a closer look at who the two were, and to his surprise, he realized he was talking to Albus Potter and Rose Granger-Weasely. 

"Sure," Albus responded. 

Rose tried getting Albus to leave, but nothing worked. Albus questioned why Rose wanted to leave so quickly, but Scorpius already knew why. 

"She wants to leave because of me," Scorpius said. 

Albus looked confused at his answer. 

"You're Albus Potter, and she's Rose Granger-Weasely. I—I'm Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco and Astoria Malfoy. Our parents didn't get along," Scorpius awkwardly said.

Rose rolled her eyes, "That's putting it lightly. Your parents were death eaters." 

"Well, dad was—mum was never a death eater, and the rumor going around isn't true either," Scorpius said. 

"What rumour?" Albus asked. 

Rose tried getting Albus up. "For goodness sake, Al! There's a rumor going on that he's the son of Voldemort! But that's not true! He has a nose!"

Scorpius awkwardly laughed, "Yeah, it looks just like my dad's." 

Albus shook his head, "I think I'll stay here, Rose." 

Rose stood there in shock and angrily walked away. Scorpius and Albus quickly bonded and were soon both sorted into Slytherin. 

That night, Scorpius excitedly wrote to his parents about his new friend. Astoria and Draco smiled at the letter. 

Maybe Scorpius wouldn't be stuck in their past.

** How does a child cope with watching his mother grow frail?  **

For the first few years that he knew of her blood curse, he had expected her to get better. Yet, he found himself coming home to his mother getting sicker. 

When Scorpius came back home from his second year, his father was the only one on the platform waiting for him. His mother had written a letter to apologize for not being able to go to the platform to pick him up. 

"You alright there, Scorp?" Albus asked.

"I don't know why I expected my mother to be here," Scorpius sadly replied. 

Albus knew all about his mother's condition. Scorpius and Albus would spend nights talking about the rumors, expectations, and their parents.

"You'll be alright?" Albus asked. 

Scorpius nodded, "Of course, I'll see you around?" 

Albus smiled, "Yep. You know, Scorp, you're always welcomed at my house."

"I'll ask my dad if I could come over," Scorpius replied. 

"Scorp!" His dad called out. 

"Bye, Al." 

"Bye, Scorp." 

Scorpius quickly walked towards his father. 

"Hi, dad." Scorpius said as he hugged his father. Draco greeted his son with a smile before they both apparated back to Malfoy Manor. 

As his mother's health declined, more healers would visit. It was a constant reminder of her weakened state. 

Both Draco and Scorpius walked up the stairs and found Astoria in her room. A few healers were checking her vitals and taking her blood, but she still wore a smile. 

"Mum!" Scorpius said with a smile. He walked over to Astoria and gave her a big hug. He was excited to see his mum but watching her grow frail in front of his eyes pained him. His smile was deceiving; for the smile was not one made entirely of happiness. His smile held a certain sadness to them. It pained him to see his mother grow frail in front of his eyes, but he didn't complain. 

He didn't want to complain about the ache in his heart when his mother had it far worse. 

He didn't want to complain about the ache in his heart when his father had to watch his mother die. 

Yet, both his parents could see the emotions clearly on his face. They tried to comfort Scorpius, but he wanted to be strong for his parents. 

Strength was never his strongest suit. 

** How do you go on with your life when you lost a piece of yourself?  **

Scorpius had barely begun his third year when Professor McGonagall called him into her office. Scorpius shakily walked with her to her office, where his dad stood waiting.

He knew that something had to be wrong for his dad to go all the way to Hogwarts. Scorpius was not dense. He knew his mother grew frailer and weaker—he witnessed it with his own eyes. 

"Let's go home, Scorp," his dad sadly said. 

Scorpius ran past the healers and to his parent's room. Draco followed quickly behind Scorpius. 

"Mum?" Scorpius quietly asked. 

Astoria looked up at both Scorpius and Draco. She smiled and weakly motioned for them to come over to her side. 

She knew she was running on limited time, but she wanted to see her son and husband one last time. It was her dying wish to have her memories of Draco and Scorpius etched into her brain and heart when she would have to part ways with life. She stared at both of the boys next to her, trying to memorize their faces. 

"Mum, are you okay?" Scorpius asked before kissing her cheek. He knew it was a stupid question to ask, but he held onto the small sliver of hope. 

Astoria smiled, "Of course, I'm okay. I have my two favourite boys with me."

She gripped onto their hands. Her hands were much colder and weaker than they used to be. 

"We love you so much," Draco said. 

"And I love you both so much. More than you can ever imagine," Astoria said before she kissed both of their hands. 

Her eyes were heavy, but she forced them to stay open longer. "My boys," she whispered. 

"I love you. Please don't leave us—please don't leave me!" Scorpius begged. 

From his blurred vision, he couldn't tell that her eyes were closed and her breathing had stopped. 

Scorpius rubbed his tears away, hoping that he would see his mother awake, smiling at him. Instead, he saw her lifeless body. Scorpius continued to rub his eyes—maybe then he could wake up from his nightmare. 

Draco sobbed into her lifeless body. The two boys held onto her as if she was their lifeline. 

They both began to ramble their goodbyes to her, but it became a blubbering mess. 

** What is home when you can't have the missing piece? **

The manor was desolate. Days after Astoria's death, the manor was in complete silence. The healers left the house and took Astoria's body. No healers—no mum.

Draco cried in his lab, breaking the objects that had failed him. He wanted her back more than anything. 

Wanting was never enough. 

Scorpius wrote a letter telling Albus what had happened before sobbing once more. His father would come in to try and help comfort Scorpius but ended up silently crying as he held Scorpius. 

No words were exchanged, but them being there for each other was enough. 


End file.
